Delta blames weather, pilot shortage for flight delays

ATLANTA -- Delta Air Lines said Tuesday it canceled more than 2,000 flights over the New Year's holiday weekend because of poor weather in the Northeast and continued pilot shortages.

''More than half of those were due to pilot unavailability,'' spokesman Russ Williams said of the period from Thursday through Monday.

Delta, the nation's third-largest carrier, canceled a total of about 7,500 flights in December, with 3,500 of those blamed on crew shortages, Williams said.

Delta operates about 2,700 flights per day but has been forced to cancel thousands of flights since November as it struggles with daily pilot shortages.

Williams said most of the cancellations Saturday were caused by a severe snowstorm that affected travel along much of the East Coast.

The airline is asking the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta to reverse a federal judge's decision last month denying it a restraining order against its 9,800 pilots.

The company claims the pilots are staging an unlawful job action by not requesting overtime flying. The company said overtime requests fell 75 percent last month, compared with requests in December 1999.

The appeals court has scheduled arguments for Jan. 11.

Delta and the pilots have been negotiating on a new contract since September 1999. Federal mediators have joined the talks, with the next negotiating session scheduled for Thursday.

The Air Line Pilots Association, which represents Delta pilots, has urged its members not to try to pressure the company with the overtime issue.